There are 10 advanced chapters at patreon.com/dzeref887
I don't want to waste my time translating novels if I don't get anything out of it.
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"That guy is so arrogant! Too full of himself!"
Lucy lowered her head, mumbling in frustration, her face full of discontent.
"He has the right to be arrogant. If you don't like him, why don't you just beat him up?"
Hearing Lucy's muttering as she remained lying in his arms even after waking up, Roy couldn't help but chuckle, patting her head teasingly.
"What are you talking about?! I was standing up for you, my senior! Saying that makes me feel so hurt. How could I possibly beat a monster like him!"
Hearing Roy's words, Lucy tilted her head up, pouting as she looked at him with dissatisfaction.
"Alright, alright, my bad. But aren't you going to get out of my arms anytime soon? I don't mind, but everyone's staring at us, you know?"
At this moment, Lucy realized just how awkward her posture was.
She was leaning into Roy's chest, her arms wrapped around his waist.
They looked exactly like a couple cuddling together.
No wonder the onlookers' gazes were filled with such meaning.
Lucy immediately reacted as if she'd been electrocuted, hurriedly leaving Roy's embrace. Her cheeks turned a bright crimson, making her look stunningly beautiful.
"They're totally a thing!"
Happy covered his mouth, his tongue curling up in amusement, as his eyes curved with mischievous laughter.
Ah! It's bad enough that the guild misunderstood, but now even a cat is making fun of me!
I'm done with life!
Lucy screamed internally, slumping over the table and covering her face with one hand, feeling utterly embarrassed.
Seeing Lucy's reaction, the guild members erupted into laughter, filling the hall with a cheerful atmosphere.
Hearing their laughter, Lucy felt even more humiliated.
"Damn senior! Bad senior! Making me lose face like this!"
She grumbled inwardly, her hidden hand under the table quietly reaching toward Roy's waist, pinching a soft spot of flesh.
Hard. Twisting.
---
That night, just as Roy was about to go to sleep, strange noises came from the living room.
A mouse? Or a thief?
Jumping out of bed, Roy strode to the bedroom door and flung it open.
What greeted him was the sight of a dim-witted idiot and a blue-furred cat breaking into his house.
It was Natsu and Happy.
Seeing Roy standing in his doorway, looking at them in silent disbelief, Natsu grinned wide, showing his pearly white teeth, and laughed boisterously.
"Yo, Roycie! I'm here to invite you and Lucy on a mission!"
Not a shred of guilt about breaking into someone's home or disturbing their sleep.
"Who the hell invites someone on a mission in the middle of the night? Also, my name is Roy, and Lucy's name is Lucy!"
Roy massaged his forehead, already feeling the headache of dealing with Natsu's single-mindedness.
Breaking into someone's house at midnight and even calling them by the wrong name.
If this were the real world and not a shounen manga, this guy would've been arrested ages ago!
"Come on, don't sweat the details!"
Not even a hint of remorse for getting their names wrong, Natsu just laughed as carefree as ever.
Faced with Natsu's attitude, Roy felt utterly powerless to argue and sighed in resignation.
"Fine, just tell me. What kind of mission do you want us to go on?"
Seeing Roy seemingly agree, Natsu's face lit up with excitement. He pulled out a mission request he had stolen from the guild's second floor and began introducing it.
"Bad senior, who are you talking to?"
Suddenly, Lucy's voice drifted down from the staircase, interrupting Natsu.
She appeared at the staircase, wearing long-sleeved pajamas that covered her modestly. Her sleepy eyes widened in surprise when she spotted the pink-haired idiot.
"Natsu?"
"Galuna Island? A reward of 7 million gold and a Zodiac Key!"
Holding the stolen mission paper, Lucy's exhaustion disappeared entirely, replaced by sheer excitement.
Her eyes turned into sparkling gold coins as she hopped around Roy, full of energy.
"Senior, senior! Let's take on this mission!"
The tempting reward made Lucy forget that this mission was stolen. She turned into a little money-grubber.
As for the mission's potential dangers?
With her senior around, how could there possibly be any danger?
Roy reached out, placing a hand on Lucy's head to stop her from bouncing.
Deep in thought, his eyes flashed with contemplation as he recalled the details of this mission.
Galuna Island? Just the name alone promised tons of Justice Points!
Even though Roy knew that this thought was likely influenced by memories from his past life, he couldn't shake the bias.
After all, in this world, demons were more akin to another race of beings rather than the malevolent entities of his previous life.
Still, with a reward of 7 million gold, this mission was worth taking on.
Moreover, Roy vaguely remembered that there really was a demon on that island.
No matter how he looked at it, this mission was a win-win.
So, Roy waved his hand decisively.
"Let's go!"
"Yeah!!!" x3